5 Ways Social Media Is Ruining Relationships

Social media has given our relationships with people and with our phones a whole new significance. As technology continues to advance, our communication continues to be more constant, leading us to expect more and more instant gratification. These days it’s all about having “likes” and craving to look into someone else’s, seemingly, more interesting life. When it comes to dating we can really let social media get in the way of having a happy relationship. Here are just a few examples of ways social media is ruining dating for us:

1. It creates more opportunities to lie.

These days you just have to be more careful when it comes to dating. Everyone has a Facebook or Tinder account (for the most part). For some, this is an excellent chance to lie to a potential date, stating that you’re single on your dating profile or Facebook, when in real life, you are married with children…

Such apps allow people to forge a certain image of themselves to the outside world, giving them the perfect backstory for a acting out their facade to a potential date.

2. It enables sneaky behavior.

Just as it’s easier to lie online, it even easier to create trust issues. You could be really interested in someone, but that person still messages an ex who cheated on them. Or worse, you are seriously dating someone and they begin to “like” pictures of hot chicks on Instagram. It doesn’t mean that they are going to pursue things with the people who’s photos they drool over. There is a difference between Insta likes and having a wandering eye, make sure you know that prior to blowing things out of proportion.

3. Leads to keeping way too many tabs.

We can’t help but snoop on other people’s profiles, especially if we are romantically involved with them. We want to know who they are talking to, what they’re doing, or if they are talking about us. Sometimes we don’t do it on purpose. It’s just the culture we are living in – where we feel like we need to always be “ in the know.” But we should tone it down a bit. There is no problem visiting bae’s profile page, but let’s not become psycho. You’re crush or S.O. has a life, and there should be a certain level of trust between you two.

4. It makes breaking up more difficult.

If your ex doesn’t have social media, you are one of the lucky ones. Unless you and your former lover are still on speaking terms, breaking up is rough if you still have to see them online. This is because you are not given the necessary space to heal. It’s worse if you see them change their status to “in a relationship” with someone else. It without a doubt prolongs the process of getting over somebody.

5. It can lead to subliminal messages.

These are the worst! In my opinion, this says everything about the state of communication in our culture. It is as if we forget how to communicate properly. Instead we create “subtweets” or cryptic messages on Facebook when someone on our friend list offends us. This passive aggressive behavior can be toxic. Moreover, the person who you blame for upsetting you, has no clue what they did. At the end of the day, this doesn’t work. Rather than creating subliminal messages we need to learn how to have proper confrontations with those who wronged us.

Social media is an amazing thing that can be used for good, but we have come to use it in horrible ways, at the expense of our relationships. Let’s not get to that point, k folks.